Kansas City (AOR 3) - Naval Cruise Book

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Copfoin Chrisrensen was born, July 1942, in An- napolis, Maryland. The son of o coreer novol officer, he also chose the service, groduoring from the U.S. Naval Academy in June of 1964. He rhen enrered flight training and received his wings in March of 1966, becoming the Navy ' s first third generation No- vo! Aviator — his grandfather hod token port in the first trons-Atlontic flight in 1919. Following training in the A4C Skyhowk ot NAS Lemoore, California, he joined Attack Squadron One Hundred Thirteen (VA-110) and deployed, in October 1966, on the first of four Vietnam combat cruises aboard USS ENTERPRISE. In August of 1968, after com- pleting more than 200 combat missions over North Vietnam and two cruises oboord ENTERPRISE, he was reassigned to duty os an instructor pilot with Attack Squadron One Hundred Seventy-four (VA-174) ot NAS Cecil Field, Florida. In October 1968, he was selected as o demon- stration pilot with the Navy ' s Flight Demonstration Teom, the BLUE ANGELS, Following two years with the BLUES , he wos transferred to duty flying the F4 Phantom with Fighter Squadron One Hundred For- ty-two (VF-142) and completed two more combat cruises aboard Enterprise between June 1971 and June 1973. In 1975, after a year as a student ot the Naval War Colleg e (groduoting with Highest Distinction), he wos ordered to serve as Operations Officer of the West Coast ' s F4 Fighter Troining Squadron One Hun- dred Twenty-one (VF-121), where he served until screened for command in November of 1977. From April 1978 until June 1981, he was Executive Officer and then Commanding Officer of Fighter Squodron One Hundred Fourteen (VF-114), flying the F4 Tom- cat. Between July and November 1981, he served as Operations Officer for Commander, Fighter Early Warning Wing, U.S. Pacific Fleet. In December of 1961, he was selected to command Topgun, the Navy fighter weapons school at NAS Miromor, Coli- fornio. He remained there until ordered to the com- mand of Carrier Air Wing Two, which he assumed in August of 1983. Detaching from there in December 1984, he re- ported to the Pentogon, where he served first as TA- CAIP, onolyst ond later os Deputy Director ond, for four months, acting director of OPA, the principal mili- tary staff advisor to the Secretory of the Novy. De- parting the Pentogon in August 1986, he began train- ing OS PCO of USS KANSAS CITY and took command in April of 1987. Captain Christensen has occumuloted over 5,000 flight hours in tactical aircraft with more than 1,000 carrier arrested landings. He flew 360 combot missions over North Vietnam between 1966 and 1973 and earned 3 Distinguished Flying Crosses, o Meritorious Service Medal, 27 Air Medols, ond 6 Novy Commendation Medols with Combat V , among numerous other owords ond ribbons. He is married to the former Leslie Carpenter of Virginia Beach, Virginia. They hove three children: Kathleen, 18; Cory, 13; and Catherine, 11